ACTIVISTS STINK OUT WOODSIDE HQ

Kristen Morrissey lit flares outside Woodside HQ yesterday after reportedly releasing gas through the building. Credit: Supplied, Disrupt Burrup Hub.

Yesterday, activists from the Disrupt Burrup Hub environmental protest group forced an evacuation of the Woodside headquarters in Boorloo/Perth.

The organisation said it simulated a gas leak by releasing harmless, non-toxic ‘stench gas’, which is usually used on mine sites to indicate danger.

One activist, Kristen Morrissey, was arrested on site and later charged with doing an act to create a false belief.

Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigner Emma Sangalli said the protest was related to a safety incident that occurred at Woodside’s Pilbara Pluto facility last week. 

“In the past week, Woodside has had to shut down its Pluto LNG plant as well as its Perth headquarters and evacuate workers due to the potential threat of gas,” she said.

“This is actually a really sensible response to that danger and the risk of gas, and Disrupt Burrup Hub thinks Woodside should adopt that response in a much broader sense and just stop producing it all together.”

Around 2000 Woodside employees were able to exit the building safely. 

A Woodside spokesperson said the company respected people’s right to protest legally but that it was unacceptable for protest action to put people’s safety at risk. 

Woodside also confirmed yesterday that one subcontractor employee has sought ongoing medical attention for noise exposure following the incident at the Pluto facility last week.

Listen to an interview with Emma Sangalli: